


Dignity

by stardropdream (orphan_account)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 05:50:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/stardropdream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After this, Japan made sure never to enter a house uninvited.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dignity

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on LJ August 2, 2009.

He cracked the door open when Greece didn’t answer.   
  
“Hello?” he called out, frowning and feeling as if he was intruding, despite knowing the man was at home. They’d only recently set up trade relations, and though Japan was not yet used entirely to having his ports open to new countries and trading partners, he found that he enjoyed Greece’s company merely because they had a lot in common and they never had to say very much.   
  
As such, he fiddled with the door and shut it behind him, muttering to himself a quick ‘please excuse the interruption’, though no one was around to hear it. He called out to Greece but still received no answer. With each increasing step he felt more and more uneasy being in someone else’s house, until he opened the last door in the house and found Greece.  
  
He stared at him, frowning.   
  
Greece was sleeping, hair untidy and one hand curled around one of the many cats napping with him. Japan regarded him for a long moment before leaning down and brushing hair away from the European’s face, trying to smooth down the unruly hair. His fingers passed through the soft brown hair before he even quite realized what he was doing.  
  
He stopped and drew back, frowning to himself. Several of the cats were awake now, staring up at him pleasantly, one letting out a small purr as she shifted, curling her tail around her body and snuggling into her master’s warmth. Japan shifted from one foot to another, looking anywhere but at Greece, and avoiding eye contact with any cat flitting around the bedroom.   
  
“This is… most undignified,” he decided, and couldn’t quite convince himself that he was talking about Greece and not himself.   
  
Japan may not know much yet about European traditions, but he knew that brushing someone’s hair—especially another man’s—while said person was sleeping and unaware was a breech in personal boundaries.   
  
He shifted, nervously, from foot to foot, and then reached out a hand to try to shake the man awake. Greece grunted, but otherwise didn’t react to the shaking. Japan tried shaking harder.   
  
“Honestly…” Japan muttered. “You should be more professional.”   
  
Japan sighed and padded around the room, finding himself straightening things up and opening the curtains for him. The sun filtered in but aside from a slight cringe, Greece did not move.  
  
“I guess I should let him sleep,” Japan mused, thoughtful, then closed the curtains again to give the Grecian some rest. “He must not be sleeping well.” He paused, thinking. “Or working too hard.”   
  
(Years later Greece would remember these musings and have to fight back a laugh—how very little he knew about Greece back then.)   
  
He approached the bed again, and this time, instead of shaking him, he simply pulled up the blanket to cover Greece’s body. The cats staying close to him mewled in protest and squeezed their way out from under the blanket, before settling down, purring, and resting against the nation’s sleeping body.   
  
He pet one of the cats absently, and found himself smiling down at Greece, though he was not sure why. Greece snored peacefully, oblivious.   
  
“Honestly,” Japan said with a sigh. “No dignity at all.”   
  
He leaned forward to brush back the mirrored curls on the back of his head, in an attempt to pat it down and make his hair at least somewhat presentable. The unannounced and unwarned effect was almost immediate. Greece seized up, inhaling sharply and stiffening. Japan recoiled in surprise, staring down at the other country as a bright red blush bloomed across Greece’s face. The European released the sudden inhale with a very slight moan, turning his head and resting against Japan’s hand, which he hadn’t remembered to snap back. Greece sighed, his olive skin flushed and a loopy smile curling the man’s lips.   
  
Japan stared.  
  
Then, he swiftly turned on his heel and practically ran from the house (in the most dignified manner he could muster). Japan made a note never to touch an upstart curl ever, ever again. If that was a customary trait among Europeans, he never wanted to know more.


End file.
